Get Off! Mac OS
Explore the world of Mac. Check out MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac mini, and more. Visit the Apple site to learn, buy, and get support. Firstly, go to the main menu by clicking on the Apple icon and choose to restart your system. While the system is restarting, press the Command and R keys at the same time till your Mac enters the Recovery mode. When you get the utility window on the screen, just click on the 'Reinstall macOS' option and continue the process.
NOTE:
Between mid October 2019 and mid February 2020 everyone in the Army was migrated to use their PIV Authentication certificate for Email access. You no longer use the Email certificate for Enterprise Email or any CAC enabled websites
Mac users who choose to upgrade (or already have upgraded) to Mac OS Catalina (10.15.x) or Big Sur (11.xx.x) will need to uninstall all 3rd Party CAC enablers per https://militarycac.com/macuninstall.htm AND reenable the native smart card ability (very bottom of macuninstall link above)
If you purchased your Mac with OS Catalina (10.15.x) or Big Sur (11.xx.x) already installed, you can skip the uninstall part above and follow the instructions below.
6 'high level' steps needed, follow down the page to make this a painless systematic process
1. | Is your CAC reader 'Mac friendly'? |
2. | Can your Mac 'see' the reader? |
3. | Verify which version of Mac OS you have |
4. | Figure out which CAC (ID card) you have |
5. | Install the DoD certificates |
5a. | Additional DoD certificate installation instructions for Firefox users |
6. | Decide which CAC enabler you want to use (except for 10.12-.15 & 11) |
Step 1: Is your CAC reader Mac friendly?
Visit the USB Readers page to verify the CAC reader you have is Mac friendly.
Visit the USB-C Readers page to verify the CAC reader you have is Mac friendly.
'Some, not all' CAC readers may need to have a driver installed to make it work.
NOTE: Readers such as: SCR-331 & SCR-3500A may need a firmware update (NO OTHER Readers need firmware updates).
Information about these specific readers are in Step 2
Step 2: Can your Mac 'see' the reader?
Plug the CAC reader into an open USB port before proceeding, give it a few moments to install
Step 2a: Click the Apple Icon in the upper left corner of the desktop, select 'About This Mac'
Step 2b: Click 'System Report...' (button)
Step 2c: Verify the CAC reader shows in Hardware, USB, under USB Device Tree. Different readers will show differently, most readers have no problem in this step. See Step 2c1 for specific reader issues.
Step 2c1: Verify firmware version on your SCR-331, SCR-3310 v2.0, GSR-202, 202V, 203, or SCR-3500a reader. If you have a reader other than these 6, Proceed directly to step 3
Step 2c1a-SCR-331 reader
If your reader does not look like this, go to the next step.
In the 'Hardware' drop down, click 'USB.' On the right side of the screen under 'USB Device Tree' the window will display all hardware plugged into the USB ports on your Mac. Look for “SCRx31 USB Smart Card Reader.” If the Smart Card reader is present, look at 'Version' in the lower right corner of this box: If you have a number below 5.25, you need to update your firmware to 5.25. If you are already at 5.25, your reader is installed on your system, and no further hardware changes are required. You can now Quit System Profiler and continue to Step 3.
Step 2c1b-SCR-3310 v2.0 reader
If your reader does not look like this, go to the next step.
In the 'Hardware' drop down, click 'USB.' On the right side of the screen under 'USB Device Tree' the window will display all hardware plugged into the USB ports on your Mac. Look for “SCR3310 v2.0 USB Smart Card Reader.” If the Smart Card reader is present, look at 'Version' in the lower right corner of this box: If you have a number below 6.02, it will not read the 'G+D FIPS 201 SCE 7.0' CAC on Mac OS 11.xx.x or 10.15.7. I contacted HID (the company that makes these readers) on 14 DEC 2020 to find a way to update the firmware to 6.02. They said there is not firmware update for the reader. If your reader is older, you may need a new one. Please look at: https://militarycac.com/usbreaders.htm to find a compatible one. If you are already at version 6.02, your reader should work fine on your Mac and no further hardware changes are required. You can now Quit System Profiler and continue to Step 3.
Step 2c1c-SCR-3500A reader
If you have the SCR3500A P/N:905430-1 CAC reader,you may need to install this driver, as the one that installs automatically will not work on most Macs. Hold the control key [on your keyboard] when clicking the .pkg file [with your mouse], select [the word] Open
Step 3: Verify which version of MacOS you have?
(You need to know this information for step 6)
Step 3a: Click the Apple Icon in the upper left corner of your desktop and select 'About This Mac'
Step 3b: Look below Mac OS X for: Example: Version 10.X.X, or 11.X
Step 4: Figure out which CAC (ID Card) you have
(You need to know this information for step 6)
Look at the top back of your ID card for these card types. If you have any version other than the seven shown below, you need to visit an ID card office and have it replaced. All CACs [other than these six] were supposed to be replaced prior to 1 October 2012.
Find out how to flip card over video
Step 5: Install the DoD certificates (for Safari and Chrome Users)
Go to Keychain Access
Click: Go (top of screen), Utilities, double click Keychain Access.app
(You can also type: keychain access using Spotlight (this is my preferred method))
Select login (under Keychains),and All Items (under Category).
Download the 5 files via links below (you may need to <ctrl> click, select Download Linked File As... on each link) Save to your downloads folder
Please know... IF You have any DoD certificates already located in your keychain access, you will need to delete them prior to running the AllCerts.p7b file below.
https://militarycac.com/maccerts/AllCerts.p7b,
https://militarycac.com/maccerts/RootCert2.cer,
https://militarycac.com/maccerts/RootCert3.cer,
https://militarycac.com/maccerts/RootCert4.cer, and
Double click each of the files to install certificates into the login section of keychain
Select the Kind column, verify the arrow is pointing up, scroll down to certificate, look for all of the following certificates:
DOD EMAIL CA-33 through DOD EMAIL CA-34,
DOD EMAIL CA-39 through DOD EMAIL CA-44,
DOD EMAIL CA-49 through DOD EMAIL CA-52,
DOD EMAIL CA-59,
DOD ID CA-33 through DOD ID CA-34,
DOD ID CA-39 through DOD ID CA-44,
DOD ID CA-49 through DOD ID CA-52,
DOD ID CA-59
DOD ID SW CA-35 through DOD ID SW CA-38,
DOD ID SW CA-45 through DOD ID SW CA-48,
DoD Root CA 2 through DoD Root CA 5,
DOD SW CA-53 through DOD SW CA-58, and
DOD SW CA-60 through DOD SW CA-61
NOTE: If you are missing any of the above certificates, you have 2 choices,
1. Delete all of them, and re-run the 5 files above, or
2. Download the allcerts.zip file and install each of the certificates you are missing individually.
Errors:
Error 100001 Solution
Error 100013 Solution
You may notice some of the certificates will have a red circle with a white X . This means your computer does not trust those certificates
You need to manually trust the DoD Root CA 2, 3, 4, & 5 certificates
Double click each of the DoD Root CA certificates, select the triangle next to Trust, in the When using this certificate: select Always Trust, repeat until all 4 do not have the red circle with a white X.
You may be prompted to enter computer password when you close the window
Once you select Always Trust, your icon will have a light blue circle with a white + on it.
The 'bad certs' that have caused problems for Windows users may show up in the keychain access section on some Macs. These need to be deleted / moved to trash.
The DoD Root CA 2 & 3 you are removing has a light blue frame, leave the yellow frame version. The icons may or may not have a red circle with the white x
or | DoD Interoperability Root CA 1 or CA 2 | certificate | |
DoD Root CA 2 or 3 (light blue frame ONLY) | certificate | ||
or | Federal Bridge CA 2016 or 2013 | certificate | |
or | Federal Common Policy CA | certificate | |
or | or | SHA-1 Federal Root CA G2 | certificate |
or | US DoD CCEB Interoperability Root CA 1 | certificate |
If you have tried accessing CAC enabled sites prior to following these instructions, please go through this page before proceeding
Clearing the keychain (opens a new page)
Please come back to this page to continue installation instructions.
Step 5a: DoD certificate installation instructions for Firefox users
NOTE: Firefox will not work on Catalina (10.15.x), or last 4 versions of Mac OS if using the native Apple smartcard ability
Download AllCerts.zip, [remember where you save it].
double click the allcerts.zip file (it'll automatically extract into a new folder)
Option 1 to install the certificates (semi automated):
From inside the AllCerts extracted folder, select all of the certificates
<control> click (or Right click) the selected certificates, select Open With, Other...
In the Enable (selection box), change to All Applications
Select Firefox, then Open
You will see several dozen browser tabs open up, let it open as many as it wants..
You will eventually start seeing either of the 2 messages shown next
If the certificate is not already in Firefox, a window will pop up stating 'You have been asked to trust a new Certificate Authority (CA).'
Check all three boxes to allow the certificate to: identify websites, identify email users, and identify software developers
or
'Alert This certificate is already installed as a certificate authority.' Click OK
Once you've added all of the certificates...
• Click Firefox (word) (upper left of your screen)
• Preferences
• Advanced (tab)
• Press Network under the Advanced Tab
• In the Cached Web Content section, click Clear Now (button).
• Quit Firefox and restart it
Option 2 to install the certificates (very tedious manual):
Click Firefox (word) (upper left of your screen)
Preferences
Advanced (tab on left side of screen)
Certificates (tab)
View Certificates (button)
Authorities (tab)
Import (button)
Browse to the DoD certificates (AllCerts) extracted folder you downloaded and extracted above.
Note: You have to do this step for every single certificate
Note2: If the certificate is already in Firefox, a window will pop up stating: 'Alert This certificate is already installed as a certificate authority (CA).' Click OK
Note3: If the certificate is not already in Firefox, a window will pop up stating 'You have been asked to trust a new Certificate Authority (CA).'
Check all three boxes to allow the certificate to: identify websites, identify email users, and identify software developers
Once you've added all of the certificates...
• Click Firefox (word) (upper left of your screen)
• Preferences
• Advanced (tab)
• Press Network under the Advanced Tab
• In the Cached Web Content section, click Clear Now (button).
• Quit Firefox and restart it
Step 6: Decide which CAC enabler you can / want to use
Only for Mac El Capitan (10.11.x or older)
After installing the CAC enabler, restart the computer and go to a CAC enabled website
NOTE: Mac OS Sierra (10.12.x), High Sierra (10.13.x), Mojave (10.14.x), Catalina (10.15.x), and Big Sur (11.1) computers no longer need a CAC Enabler.
Try to access the CAC enabled site you need to access now
Mac support provided by: Michael Danberry
With macOS®, app notifications became an integral part of our lives. We get notified about upcoming events, scheduled meetings, emails, Facebook messages, birthdays, and websites we accidentally subscribed to.
Don’t get me wrong, notifications are extremely useful and help optimize workflow.
But what if sometimes we need quiet time to focus on important tasks, avoid distractions, give a presentation, or simply sleep? How to turn off all the Mac® notifications?
I’ll cover the steps needed to stop getting app notifications in macOS, either all at once or one by one.
1. Disable All Distractions with an App
The easiest way to disable all notifications on Mac is to use Parallels Toolbox. Toolbox is a Swiss-Army knife for MacOS that brings convenience of smartphones to desktop, which allows you not only to switch to Do Not Disturb mode on the fly, but also keep your focus with Presentation Mode that Instantly disables those embarrassing pop-ups or bouncing icons.
The application automatically detects when additional displays are connected and prevent any distractions to occur. Additionally you can quickly get ready for a presentation with easy access to hide a messy desktop or lock screen when you’re done with work.
Here are just a few of other 30+ amazing features of Toolbox:
Download Video – Grab music and videos from Youtube, Vimeo or Facebook and watch them offline.
Clean Drive and Free Memory – Free up extra disk space and keep your Mac optimized for the best performance.
Take Screenshots or Record a Video with a single click for quick cut-and-paste jobs.
You can download Toolbox and try it out for free here (no registration needed).
2. Pause Notifications from Notification Center
To quickly stop receiving notifications until midnight, do the following:
- Click on the Notification Center icon in the menu bar.
- Swipe down until you see the Do Not Disturb label.
- Switch on Do Not Disturb mode.
- Alternatively, hold down the Option key while you click the Notification Center icon.
When Do Not Disturb is on, the Notification Center icon on the right is dimmed. During that time, the notifications arrive silently in Notification Center until midnight or the scheduled time.
3. Enable Do Not Disturb for Your Preferred Amount of Time
Mac users can specify when they don’t want to be disturbed—as well as set how apps show notifications—with Notifications System Preferences.
To turn off notifications for your preferred time, do the following:
- From the Apple Menu in the top left corner, open System Preferences.
- Select Notifications.
- Stop notifications during the specific time range, when the display is sleeping, or when you’re mirroring the screen.
4. Disable Safari Notifications
Push-up notifications in Safari are a relatively new feature, but more and more websites are offering them. Usually, a user voluntarily subscribes to a website’s notifications from a pop-up window. Sometimes, however, it happens accidentally.
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To disable unwanted notifications from a website, do the following:
- Open Safari and click Safari -> Preferences in the top menu bar.
- Open the Websites tab.
- Select Notifications on the left-side menu.
- Choose which website notifications you want to disable.
Hint: if you need to uninstall apps, it’s not recommended to drag them to the trash as different applications tend to leave lots of unwanted files on you hard drive. It’s best to use a dedicated uninstaller tool, like Toolbox Uninstall Apps. You can download Toolbox and try it out for free here.
5. Turn Off Updates Notifications
The App Store in macOS pushes update notifications for installed apps whenever they become available. To turn them off, you can now simply do the following:
- Click on the Apple menu in the top bar.
- Open System Preferences.
- Find the App Store.
- Turn off the “Automatically check for updates” option.
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That covers all the steps for turning off notifications on your Mac. Make sure to turn them on again when you’re done with your project so you don’t miss any important notifications!